Stripping means for a container pack forming machine



1965 J. STEVENSON, JR 3,221,470

STRIPPING MEANS FOR A CONTAINER PACK FORMING MACHINE Filed Nov. 21, 19622 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR.

John 5zez/en5onJr.

ATT'Y.

Dem 1965 J. STEVENSON, JR 3,221,470

STRIPPING MEANS FOR A CONTAINER PACK FORMING MACHINE Filed NOV. 21, 19622 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. JO/zn 5Zez/e7250n,L/r W m ATT'Y.

United States Patent 3,221,470 STRIPPHNG MEANS FOR A CONTAINER PACKFGRWING MACHINE John Stevenson, in, Hoopeston, llL, assignor to IllinoisTool Works Inc, Chicago, lit, a corporation of Delaware Filed Nov. 21,1962, Ser. No. 239,212 8 Claims. (Cl. 53-48) This invention relates ingeneral to a stripping means for a container pack forming machine andmore particularly it relates to a stripping means for operableassociation with the carrier applying means during the assembly of afiat somewhat elastic carrier to containers such as beer cans or thelike.

This invention is, concerned with an improvement to the container packforming machine shown in the copending application SN. 174,023 filedFebruary 19, 1962, assigned to the same assignee of which I am one ofthe coinventors. The stripping mechanism is also adapted to beassociated with the assembly machine shown in US. Patent 3,032,943,issued in May 8, 1962, assigned to the same assignee.

Machines for assembling containers and container carriers to formmultipacks of containers which are convenient for carrying are assumingever greater commercial and economic importance. Examples of containercarriers of the type which are assembled with containers by a machine towhich the instant invention relates are shown in US. Patent No.2,874,835, issued to O. J. Poupitch, and in other patents andapplications disclosing various improvements thereto.

In assembling carriers of the Poupitch type, one of the problemsencountered relates to the positive stripping of the carriers from thecarrier applying means in a fast repetitive trouble-free manner. When itis considered that machines of the type shown in the aforementionedcopending application are designed to operate at a production rate of1200 cans per minute, said production being continuous 24 hours a day,seven days a week, the importance of having a positive stripping meanswhich will always assure that the carriers will leave the carrierapplying means so that the containers and carriers are correctlyassembled comes into direct focus. Due to the almost astronomical numberof cans and carriers passing through the machines, the number of movingparts in the assembly machine, and the wear of these moving partsinherent in the operation of the machine, the necessity for a safe,positive, rugged, always operable stripping means which will operateindependent of dimensional variances in the cans and carriers, and willcontinue to operate independent of wear of parts will be apparent.

The instant stripping device overcomes all the aforenoted problems andprovides a safe, rugged stripping means which is always operable tostrip the carrier from the carrier applying shoes at the assemblystation of the carrier and the containers passing therethrough.

The novel features that are considered characteristic of this inventionare set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The inventionitself, however, both as to its organization and its method ofoperation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, willbe best understood by the following description of the specificembodiment when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, inwhich;

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the carrier applying expanding jawsubassembly which is mounted on a rotor as shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of one-half of the subassembly shownin FIG. 1, the subassembly being substantially symmetrical about thecenter line;

31,221,470 Patented Dec. 7, l9fi5 FIG. 3 is a top plan view of thesubassembly shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the left hand portion of thesubassembly showing the jaws in expanded relation, the right hand halfof the subassembly showing the jaws in closed relationship;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view through the rotor mechanism carrying aplurality of subassemblies such as shown in FIGS. 1 through 3 showingthe relative positions of the parts between the carrier pick-up stationand the assembly station to illustrate the operation of the strippermechanism; and

FIG. 5 is a semidiagrammatic view of a container pack assembly machineutilizing the subassemblies shown in the foregoing views.

Before discussing the stripper mechanism in detail, it would appearbeneficial to discuss, in somewhat capsulized form, the assemblingmachines with which the in stant apparatus is designed to operate. For acomplete detailed picture of the apparatus, reference should be had tothe aforementioned patent and patent application. The apparatus it asshown in FIG. 5, basically comprises a machine for high speed assemblyof containers 8 or other articles to a carrier means 24 and means forsegregating the assembled containers and carriers into units such assix-packs and, when desired, adding transporting means in the form ofhandles to the package. These assembling machines 10 are inherently Wellsuited to be used as an attachment to the conventional filling andclosing machines such as, for example, a machine for filling and closinga conventional can of beer. The machine or apparatus in general has acarrier storage area 12, a container entering area 20, a carrier pick-uparea 14, an assembly area 16, and an area 22 downstream of the assemblyarea 16 for segregating the assembled containers and cans into discreteunits such as 6-packs or the like, it being realized that the carriers24 are initially in the form of flat, somewhat elastic, apertured,plastic sheet material members stored on a continuous roll 12 similar toa spool or the like. The finished packaged products leave the dischargeor output area 26 of the apparatus lit and are further assembled intocase lots and/or are otherwise taken to market as are, Whichever is moresuitable and is desired.

The instant invention is concerned with the stripping mechanisms 28 and30 mounted on a rotor 18 in association with the individual carrierapplying jaw subassemblies 32 mounted on the rotor. There are usually12, 18 or 24 sub assemblies 32 mounted on the rotor, each subassembly 32being adapted to successively fit into consecutive spaced apertures inthe can carriers shown in the aforementioned Poupitch patent at station14 to pick up the carriers. The rotor means 18 is driven by suitabledriving means (shown diagrammatically at 34) through suitable gears 36to turn shaft 38 in timed relationship to other portions of the assemblyapparatus. A pai. of spaced plates 40 and 42 mount the individualsubassemblies 32 on the periphery of the rotor. Through rotation of therotor means 18, the individual subassemblies 32 pass through the carrierpick-up station 14 at the top of the apparatus as shown in FIG. 4 andmove the carriers into embracing relationship with the containers 8 atthe assembly station 16 shown at the bottom of FIG. 4, it being realizedthat the containers move from left to right on suitable belt means inthe apparatus as viewed in FIG. 5.

As perhaps best perceived in FIG. 1 the subassemblies 32 eachessentially comprise two sets of shoes 46 and 48, each pair or set 46and 48 being made up of individual shoes 56 through 56. Shoes 52 and 56are fixedly mounted to parallel rods 58 and 60 which are in turn fixedat the ends thereof to block 62 carrying cam follower 64. Shoes and 54are fixedly mounted to rods 66 and 68, which are in turn fixed to block70, which carries cam follower 72 thereon. The rods 58, 60, 66, and 68each respectively movably extend through suitable apertures in discs 74and 76 which rotatably mount the carrier applying subassembly 32 to theplates 40 and 42 respectively. The mounting of the discs 74 and 76 tothe plates 40 and 42 respectively, permits the discs to rotate abouttheir own axis on the plates 40 and 42, but prevents any other movementthereof. The reason for having discs 74 and 76 pivotal about their ownaxes on plates 40 and 42 is to accommodate the shoe sets 46 and 48 tothe varying center distances of apertures in the carriers to be appliedto the cans 8. This is described in detail in Patent No. 3,032,943. Thecam followers 64 and 72 are cooperable with cams fixedly mountedrelative to the machine to cause the rods 58-60, 66-68 associated withthe blocks 62 and 7 to move relative to each other to in turn cause theindividual jaw sets 46 and 48 to have relative separating andapproaching movements of the individual jaw members 50-52 and 54-56. Camfollower 64 cooperates with cams 78-80 and cam follower 72 cooperateswith similarly formed cams 82-84. As will be seen, cams 78-84 are suchas to cause the jaw sets 46 and 48 to be in closed position at thecarrier pick-up station 14 (top of FIG. 4) and to be completely expandedor open at the assembly station 16 (bottom of FIG. 4). It is the removalof the carriers from the expanded jaw sets 46 and 48 when they are inthe assembly station 16 with which the instant invention is particularlyconcerned.

To this end, the stripping means 28 and are individually mounted on therespective discs 74 and 76 for cooperation with the outboard shoes and56 as shall now be explained in detail. The stripper means 28 shall bedescribed in detail, the stripping means 30 being substantiallyidentical except for left and right hand considerations. The strippingmeans 28 is mounted on disc 74 and comprises a U-shaped member 86 havinga pair of spaced arms 90-92 which mount a shaft 94 therebetween. Levermeans having a pair of arms 96- 98 is pivotally mounted on the shaft 94.As will be appreciated, lever arm 96 is disposed at right angles to arm98 and mounts a cam follower 100 at the end thereof. Lever arm 98 isbiased to the recessed position shown in FIG. 2 by a suitable biasingspring 102 trapped between arm 96 and the disc 74, arm 96 being biasedagainst an adjustable stop 103. Arm 98 is formed with a plurality offingers 104 which are adapted to cooperate with apertures 106 and thelip of the outboard shoe means 50. Fixed cam means 108-110 are suitablyfixedly mounted on the frame of the machine to engage the rollers 100 onarms 96 of stripper means 28-30 when the subassemblies 32 are in theassembly station 16. This causes the fingers or tangs 104 of strippermeans 28 to move in the apertures 106 to the position indicated on theleft side of the subassembly 32 shown in FIG. 4 at station 16 topositively strip a carrier mounted on the shoes, off of the shoes. Thestripping means 30 in the right hand half of the subassernbly 32 shownin FIG. 4 at station 16 is shown just prior to actuation by the cam 110,it being appreciated that stripping means 28 and 30 actuatesimultaneously. It will be further appreciated that cams 108-110 onlyextend through the area of the assembly station 16, the stripping means28-30 each returning to its recessed position under the influence ofsprings 102 when rollers 100 are not causing actuation of the strippingmeans. Further, it will be seen that the stripping means only comes intoplay after the shoe sets 46-48 have been expanded to their finalposition under the influence of the rollers 64 and 72 in engaging thecams 78 through 84. Thus, a positive mechanical stripping engagement ofthe carriers mounted on the shoe sets 46-48 is afforded as thesubassemblies 32 pass through the station 16.

Although a specific embodiment of the invention has been shown anddescribed, it is with full awareness that many modifications thereof arepossible. The invention, therefore, is not to be restricted exceptinsofar as is necessitated by the prior art and the spirit of theappended claims.

What is claimed as the invention is:

1. For use in a machine for assembling containers into packs heldtogether by generally flat, somewhat elastic carriers, said machineincluding means for directing a procession of containers to a carrierand container assembly station, there being rotor means-proximate tosaid assembly station and means for supplying a succession of carriersto said rotor means at a location circumferentially spaced from saidassembly station, said rotor means including shoe means on the peripherythereof for picking up successive carriers from said carrier supplyingmeans and applying the carriers into embracing relations to containersin said assembly station, the improvement comprising stripper meansmounted on said rotor means for association with said shoe means, saidstripper means having a stripping position and a recessed position,there being means operable to move said stripping means from itsrecessed position to its stripping position at said carrier andcontainer assembly station.

2. For use in a machine for assembling containers into packs heldtogether by generally fiat, somewhat elastic carriers, said machineincluding means for directing a procession of containers to a carrierand container assembly station, there being rotor means mounted on framemeans proximate to said assembly station and means for supplying asuccession of carriers to said rotor means at a locationcircumferentially spaced from said assembly station, said rotor meansincluding two pairs of relatively movable horizontally aligned shoemeans on the periphery thereof for picking up successive carriers fromsaid carrier supplying means and applying the carriers into embracingrelations to containers in said assembly station, the improvementcomprising stripper means mounted on said rotor means for associationwith the outboard shoe of each pair of said shoe means, said strippermeans having a stripping position and a recessed position, there beingcam means mounted on said frame means operable to move said strippingmeans from its recessed position to its stripping position at saidcarrier and container assembly station.

3. The improvement set forth in claim 2 including means for returningsaid stripper means to its recessed position when it is not in saidassembly station.

4. For use in a machine for assembling containers into packs heldtogether by generally flat, somewhat elastic carriers, said machineincluding means for directing a procession of containers to a carrierand container assembly station, there being carrier applying meansproximate to said assembly station and means for supplying a successionof carriers to said carrier applying means at a location spaced fromsaid assembly station, said carrier applying means including shoe meansfor picking up successive carriers from said carrier supplying means andapplying the carriers into embracing relations to containers in saidassembly station, the improvement comprising stripper means mounted onsaid carrier applying means for association with said shoe means, saidstripper means having a stripping position and a recessed position,there being means operable to move said stripping means from itsrecessed position to its stripping position at said carrier andcontainer assembly station.

5. For use with a machine for assembling a procession of containers intoa succession of carrying packs, comprising means for directing aprocession of containers to an assembly station, a rotatable rotormounted in operative association with said station, a circumferentialseries of spaced carrier applying shoe sets mounted on said rotor inpairs, means for supplying a series of interconnected and aperturedcarriers to said rotor in spaced relation to said assembly station, saidcarrier applying shoe sets projecting into said apertures in saidcarriers at said position in spaced relation to said assembly station,means for moving corresponding shoes of each pair away from each otheras the shoe sets approach said assembly station to expand the aperturesin the carriers on the shoes to fit the carriers around containers insaid station, the improvement comprising stripping means having arecessed position and movable to a stripping position associated withthe outboard shoe of each set of shoes, said stripping means uponmovement of the shoe sets into expanded position at said assemblystation being operable to positively strip the carrier from said shoes.

6. The improvement set forth in claim 5 wherein said stripping meanscomprises pivotly mounted lever means having first and second arm means,the axis of the pivot of said lever means being fixed relative to saidmovable shoe sets, the first arm means being cooperable with theoutboard shoe of said shoe sets, said second arm means being cooperablewith cam means to pivot said lever means from its recessed position toits stripping position.

7. The improvement set forth in claim 6 wherein said shoe sets aremounted for approaching and separating movement relative to saidstripping means, the outboard shoe of each of said shoe sets beingformed with aperture means opening in the direction of approachingmovement to said stripping means, said first arm of said stripping meansbeing configured and disposed so that approaching movement of saidoutboard shoe to said stripping means causes the insertion thereofWithin said aperture means, there being cam means cooperable with saidsecond arm means to pivotly move said first arm of said stripping meansrelative to said outboard shoe means to cause stripping movement of saidfirst arm means in said aperture means in a direction substantiallytransverse to the opening movement of said shoe sets.

8. The improvement set forth in claim 7 wherein the individual outboardshoes of each shoe set are formed with a plurality of spaced apertures,and said first arm means of said stripping means is formed with acomplementary number of spaced prongs individually insertable in theindividual spaced apertures of said outboard shoe members.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,680,549 6/1954Levy 53-303 X 3,032,944 5/1962 Hull et a1. 53-48 FRANK E. BAILEY,Primary Examiner; TRAVIS S. MCGEHEE, Examiner.

1. FOR USE IN A MACHINE FOR ASSEMBLING CONTAINERS INTO PACKS HELDTOGETHER BY GENERALLY FLAT, SOMEWHAT ELASTIC CARRIERS, SAID MACHINEINCLUDING MEANS FOR DIRECTING A PROCESSION OF CONTAINERS TO A CARRIERAND CONTAINER ASSEMBLY STATION, THEIR BEING ROTOR MEANS PROXIMATE TOSAID ASSEMBLY STATION AND MEANS FOR SUPPLYING A SUCCESSION OF CARRIERSTO SAID ROTOR MEANS AT A LOCATION CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED FROM SAIDASSEMBLY STATION, SAID ROTOR MEANS INCLUDING SHOE MEANS ON THE PERIPHERYTHEREOF FOR PICKING UP SUCCESSIVE CARRIERS FROM SAID CARRIER SUPPLYINGMEANS AND APPLYING THE CARRIERS INTO EMBRACING RELATIONS TO CONTAINERSIN SAID ASSEMBLY STATION, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING STRIPPER MEANSMOUNTED ON SAID ROTOR MEANS FOR ASSOCIATION WITH SAID SHOE MEANS, SAIDSTRIPPER MEANS HAVING A STRIPPING POSITION AND A RECESSED POSITION,THERE BEING BEING OPERABLE TO MOVE SAID STRIPPING MEANS FROM ITSRECESSED POSITION TO ITS STRIPPING POSITION AT SAID CARRIER ANDCONTAINER ASSEMBLY STATION.